Refrigerating apparatus



G. F. WEIHER Nov. 22, 1938.

REFRIGERATING APPARATUS Filed July 3, 1936 INVENTOR. $501265 F PVsw/av. v

##MM b Il ATTQRNEYS.

Patented Nov. 22, 1938 UNITED STATES REFRIGERATING APPARATUS George F. Weiher, Dayton, Ohio, assignor to General Motors Corporation, Dayton, Ohio, a corporation of Delaware Application July 3, 1936, Serial No. 88,810

2 Claims.

An object of the present invention is to provide 5 an improved compressor construction.

Another object of the present invention is to 7 provide an improved fluid compressor construction wherein parts thereof are connected together by a yieldable connecting means to facilitate assembly of the parts and to provide quiet operation of the compressor without impairing its life.

A still further and more specific object of the invention is to provide a fluid compressor with a yieldable bearing device for the shaft thereof to thereby insure alignment of the shaft within the bearing and to reduce or eliminate clearances therebetween which ordinarily create noises during operation of the compressor.

In carrying out the foregoing objects it is a still further and more specific object of the invention to provide a yieldable bearing device for the shaft of a compressor which while being exposed to refrigerant and lubricant within the compressor is not affected thereby.

Further objects and advantages of the present invention will be apparent from the following description, reference being had to the accompanying drawing, wherein a preferred form of the present invention is clearly shown.

In the drawing:

Fig. l is a vertical cross-sectional view of a compressor having my invention embodied therein;

Fig. 2 is a fragmentary vertical cross-sectional a view similar to Fig. l and showing a yieldable bearing deformed in accordance with the invention; and

Fig. 3 is a fragmentary cross-sectional view taken on the line 3-3 of Fig. 1.,

A unit embodying the. features of my invention is shown in Fig. l of the drawing and is generally designated by the reference character 10. This unit comprises a combined motor and compressor that may be connected with any system utilizing fluid under pressure and in the present instance the compressor is preferably of the type adapted to form a part of a closed refrigerating system (not shown) The unit It) includes a dome or bell l I having its bottom edge secured to a base plate l2 to form a sealed enclosure in which is located a cylinder l3 and a piston member M providing a compression chamber 15. In the design of compressor disclosed the piston M is given a gyratory motion by an eccentric ll, formed on the lower end of a drive shaft 18, on which shaft a motor rotor I9 is mounted. The motor rotor I9 is caused to rotate by a motor stator 2|. The piston member [4 is adapted to receive a divider block which divides the compression chamber l5 so as to cause compression of a fluid therein in the well-known manner. The fluid or gaseous refrigerant to be compressed by the compressor portion of unit I enters the chamber I5 by way of a conduit coupling '22. Compressed fluid is expelled from the chamber l5 into the sealed container, formed by the members I I and I2, through suitable check valves which may be located in the upper plate 23 and finds its way through suitable passages, such, for example, as the openings 24 and 25, provided in a stationarily mounted shaft 26 disposed within and supporting drive shaft I8, out of the sealed container. Compressed fluid is thereby discharged from unit It) through the lower end 27 of shaft 26 which end. extends outwardly of the sealed container provided by dome II and plate l2.

Since compressors of the-type herein disclosed impart a gyratory motion it is difficult to maintain sufficiently close limits of fit between various parts or elements of the motor-compressor unit I0 during or after the assembly thereof and operation of the unit sets up vibration noises that are objectionable. For. example, the fit of dome or hell II upon base plate I2 may cause a slight misalignment of the mounting point, designated at 28, of shaft 26 relative to the bearing retainer collar or socket 29 secured to the inner surface of the top wall of dome ll. Such a misalignment will cause the stationary shaft 26 to be mounted or disposed at a slight angle to the drive shaft l8 and during operation of' unit. it other parts thereof will also at times be misaligned to cause abnormal clearances between the parts and these clearances will thereby create objectionable noises. Since my invention is particularly directed to eliminating noises during operation of a motor-compressor unit of the type disclosed and wherein the drive shaft is vertically disposed I propose the utilization of a bearing device within the collar or socket 29 which is yieldable and capable of being flexed so as to insure proper alignment of parts of the unit and to eliminate the occurrence of abnormal clearances between the various parts.

I therefore locate or mount a bearing device within the collar or socket 29 which device comprises an outer cylindrical steel or brass tube member 3| having a yieldable collar member 32 .therein. .The bearing device also includes a bronze collar 33 split as at 34 and disposed within the collar member 32. The collar 33 is split at 3 3 for the purpose of permitting compression of this collar during insertion thereof into the yieldable colla-r member 32 and to permit expansion thereof against the walls of the opening in member 32 to thus firmly maintaincollar 33 within yieldable member 32. The collar member 32 is made of a yieldable rubber-like material which has the toughness of and resembles vulcanized rubber and which is resistant to the refrigerant and lubricant ordinarily used in refrigerating systems so as to enable same to remain relatively unchanged asito Volume and other characteristics in the presence of refrigerants and oils within a refrigerating system. Among the types of materials which may be employed to form the yieldable member 321 prefer that classof synthetic rubbers known as the polymers of chloro-2-butadiene-1 ,3.' These synthetic rubbers are known to the trade as Duprene, and are resistant to any action in the presence of the refrigerants commonly used, such as the fiuorinederivatives of the hydrocarbons, for example, methyl and ethyl chlorides; .orthe fluorine derivatives of the hydrocarbons, such; as tetrafiuoroethane, and these polymers are 12,150 resistant 'to the common lubricants which maybe considered to be derivatives of methane; such as mineral oil, which is indicated in Fig. 1 at 36, and employed to lubricate moving parts of unit "1.; I have found that a bearing device made of or, having a portion thereof made of one of these polymers withstands, in the presence of a lub ricant anda refrigerant, without any substantial change in volume and without any substantial change in resiliency and because of the yieldable nature of the material any variations can be taken up by the material of the bearing device.

Thus a misalignment of shaft 26 with the bearing mounting or support collar 29- will be taken up by flexing of the member 32 within the bearing device and member 32 will permit the inner bronze collar 33 of the bearing device to align withand fit closely against the portion of shaft'26 adjacent 1 its upper end. It will be noted by referring to Fig.

2 of the drawing and observing the exposed e of the member 32 that this member is twisted or tilted so as to be slightly deformed within the metal portions 3| and 33 of'the bearing device, or,

in other words, the members. 3| and 33 are disposed at a slight angle to one another, to thereby cause the metal member 33 to tightly engage the end portion of shaft 26 throughout the length of the surface thereof adapted to bear against the shaft. This deformation of the member 32 is caused by misalignment of parts of the unit 10 such, for example, as the dome l I not fitting centrally of the base plate or by shaft 26 not being mounted in the exact center of the unit 10.

It will be seen from the foregoing that the hearing device of the present invention insures a close fit of the shaft therein and permits proper alignment of the shaft bearing surface even though parts or elements of the unit may not be mounted in exact alignment. My improved bearing device is highly important and useful in units of the type disclosed even if the parts of the unit are machined between close limits because the tolerances of the limits of one machined part may not at all times match with the tolerances of limits of other machined parts to be assembled or connected to the one part and thus abnormal clearances occur which create noise during operation of the unit. The split bronze member 33 of my improved bearing device always snugly fits against shaft 26 and in alignment "therewith to eliminate any clearance between these parts which may create a noise during operation of the unit. The yielding characteristics of the portion 32 of the bearing device permits alignment of the metal member 33 with shaft 26 to thereby insure uniform wear of member 33 and shaft 26. While I have disclosed the improved support as a bearing device in a position to yield and cause proper alignment of certain parts in a specific locality within a unit of the type herein described it is obvious that the improved supporting device may have other uses under similar circumstances in different localities of the same or other units. My improved bearing device or support facilitates the assembly of units of the type described and eliminates the generation of noise thereby without impairing the llfe of the unit.

While the form of embodiment of the invention as herein disclosed, constitutes a preferred form, it is to be understood that other forms might be adopted, all coming within the scope of the claims which follow.

What is claimed is as follows:

1. A unit forming a sealed chamber containing an operating element, said unit comprising a base plate member having means rigidly secured thereto and extending upwardly therefrom for supporting the operating element, said base plate member also having a peripheral finished surface adapted to be engaged by a closure member, said operating element supporting means and said peripheral finished surface of said base plate member being fixed relative to one another, a domeshaped closure member having a mounting portion formed on its inner surface integral therewith for receiving the end of said operating element supporting means, said closure member also having a finished surface adapted to conform to and fit over the peripheral finished surface on said base plate member, and said mounting portion of said closure member including a yieldable means to compensate for variations in alignment thereof with said operating element supporting means to permit the finished surfaces of said members to be brought into registration.

2. A unit forming a sealed chamber containing an operating element for circulating a. refrigerant comprising a halogen derivative of a hydrocarbon and a lubricant, at least one of which has a deteriorating effect on rubber, therethrough, said unit comprising a base plate member having means rigidly secured thereto and extending upwardly therefrom for supporting the operating element, said base plate member also having a peripheral finished surface adapted to be engaged by a closure member, said operating element supporting means and said peripheral finished surface of said base plate member being fixed relative to one another, a dome-shaped closure member having a mounting portion formed on its inner surface integral therewith for receiving the end of said operating element supporting means, said closure member also having a finished surface adapted to conform to and fit over the peripheral finished surface on said base plate member, said mounting portion of said closure member including a yieldable means to compensate for variations in alignment thereof with said operating element supporting means to permit the finished surfaces of said members to be brought into registration, and said yieldable means of said mounting portion of said closure member being formed of a polymer of chloro-2-butadiene-1,3.

GEORGE F. WEII-IER. 

